Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to venipuncture. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods and devices to assist in identifying and/or locating blood vessels in a patient.
Description of Related Art
Under various circumstances, a healthcare provider may attempt to locate and/or identify a blood vessel of a patient for several various reasons. For example, the healthcare provider may need to find a blood vessel to collect a blood sample from the patient or to insert an intravenous (IV) line into the patient.
Sometimes, finding a suitable blood vessel in a patient poses some difficulty. Some patients may have blood vessels that are not easily visible. Some patients may have fat layers that obscure the blood vessels. Techniques that may be typically carried out to identify a blood vessel include use of an elastic or other type of strip as a tourniquet to temporarily partially block blood flow through the vessel, which may engorge the vessel, thereby aiding the healthcare provider in locating it. Such strips are typically tightened around a patient's limb by manually applying tension to the strip and fastening and/or tying the strip to itself.